Posts Tagged ‘trumpet’
Posted by glennled on December 13, 2010
How do they do that? That’s what I always wonder when I see people riding unicycles and doing their amazing moves and tricks. And that’s what made the half-time show so thrilling at the basketball game in Seattle between the University of Washington Huskies and the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Dec. 4. [I played trumpet in the Husky Alumni Pep Band at this game.] The half-time buzzer sounded, the two teams trotted off to the locker rooms, and out onto the court rolled about 40 dazzling members of the famous Panther Pride Unicycle Team (PPUT) from North Bend, WA in the Snoqualmie Valley. The riders range from age 7 and up.
How do they even get up on those things, much less keep from falling off? Well, as I learned from their website, www.pput.info, there are at least 11 different ways to mount a unicycle. And the Unicycling Society of America has defined 10 skill levels of unicycle riding (see http://www.unicyclingusa.org).
PPUT Photo
Last July, PPUT competed at the “U Games” in the San Francisco Bay Area (see http://ugames.caluni.org). These games are the North American Unicycling Championships and are the largest gathering of unicycle enthusiasts on the continent. PPUT brought back 60 gold, silver and bronze medals!
They appear on TV (see http://www.king5.com/new-day-northwest/Panther-Pride-Unicycle-Team-99467054.html). They ride in various parades, including Macy’s Holiday Parade, Salmon Days in Issaquah, and Autumn Leaves Festival in Leavenworth. They do shows at basketball games for UW, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University and others. They perform for corporate and group special events, local and statewide, and have tons of Flickr photos and YouTube videos (see http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local /san_francisco&id=7561416&rss=rss-kgo-article-7561416).
See what happens when you play trumpet in the school or alumni band? You get to see marvelous shows like this–free! It broadens the mind and uplifts the spirit, that’s what it does.
PPUT Photo
I’m always amazed at how many people are engaged in so many volunteer activities like this, whatever they may be—from flying model airplanes to rock climbing to drum and bugle corps to Renaissance festivals and medieval fairs to dog shows and horse shows, et.al.—“you-name-it.” And very often these activities evolve into organized competitions from the local to national to world levels. Whatever the endeavor, we all appreciate, admire and honor excellence.
The next time you’re in the library, find a directory of societies and associations—-it’s thick!—and open its pages. You’ll be amazed at the variety of human interests and avocations. And we’re just like everyone else—it’s fun to play trumpet and ride unicycles for free at basketball games!
PPUT Photo
-
PPUT Photo
PPUT Photo
- PPUT Photo
- PPUT Photo
Posted in HMBAA - Husky Alumni Band | Tagged: Alumni Pep Band, Autumn Leaves Festival, basketball, drum and bugle corps, half-time, Huskies, Husky, Issaquah, Leavenworth, Macy's Holiday Parade, North American Unicycling Championships, North Bend, Panther Pride Unicycle Team, PPUT, Red Raiders, Salmon Days, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, Snoqualmie Valley, Texas Tech, trumpet, U Games, unicycle, Unicycling Society of America, University of Washington, UW | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on December 10, 2010
7-ft N'Diaye at the line
While the UW Varsity Marching Band was away in Pullman for the Apple Cup football game—by the way, UW beat WSU, 35-28!—the Husky Alumni Band supplied the pep band for the home basketball game in Seattle against the Texas Tech Red Raiders from Lubbock, TX. It was no contest, as the Huskies won “going away” in dominating fashion, 108-79.
Husky Alumni Pep Band
What was the prime difference between the two basketball teams? the players? the coaches? the home court? the talent? the height, size, length? the quickness, speed, leaping ability? the offense, the defense? the bench depth? the experience level? Or was it something else, perhaps–some hidden ingredient? Maybe the secret advantage was the inspiration provided to the team and the crowd by that outstanding pep band, led by those 8 great trumpet players (including me)! Well, why not? why not make the claim? why not take the credit when something everybody wants to happen turns out just right? Our politicians do that every day!
And let’s give some extra credit to the fabulous half-time show, too, featuring the Panther Pride Unicyle Team from Snoqualmie Valley (see the next post on this blog). They must have helped the fans and Huskies some, too, huh?
Now if you want a better description of how the game was actually played, please go to http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/120410aaa.html and watch the highlights on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDUwJMwtEFM&feature=player_embedded. Man, does this Husky team look tough! I think it’s the best team Coach Lorenzo Romar has ever assembled. We’ll see.
You remember last March, when the Huskies lost to West Virginia, 69-56, in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Basketball Tournament? That game was “the men against the boys.” Their starters were taller, heavier, stronger, and just as quick and fast. We were no match.
Well, maybe it will be a different story this year against such teams. Maybe this year we will be the men. We have a better front line, and we have more depth. As the game against Texas Tech showed, we have a better Matthew Bryan-Amaning (“MBA”), a true center (Aziz
Justin Holiday at the line
N’Diaye), and a sterling Justin Holiday. Coach Lorenzo Romar says he has a 10-man rotation right now and is hard-pressed to narrow it to 8. Plus, Romar’s teams always seem to improve throughout the season. For example, N’Diaye is foul-prone; he fouled out last Saturday. We need him to rebound, block shots, and defend well. Let’s watch him improve. The Maui Tournament exposed our weaknesses, and we have about four months to work on them.
If we peak at the right time—post-season tournament time—we could be double-trouble for anyone! Next March, we want to at least break through the “Sweet Sixteen” into the “Elite Eight.” That’s what the Husky Alumni Pep Band is playing for. Come on, guys–let’s even aim to play in “The Big Dance!”—let’s be there, Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX, 2-4 April 2011. Book it!
Posted in HMBAA - Husky Alumni Band | Tagged: Apple Cup, Aziz N'Diaye, band, basketball, coach, Elite Eight, Houston, Huskies, Husky Alumni Band, Husky Alumni Pep Band, Justin Holiday, Lubbock, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Maui Tournament, NCAA Basketball Tournament, Panther Pride Unicycle Team, pep band, Red Raiders, Reliant Stadium, Romar, Snoqualmie Valley, Sweet Sixteen, Texas Tech, The Big Dance, trumpet, trumpeters, TX, UW, UW Varsity Marching Band, West Virginia, WSU | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on December 9, 2010
So you like the trumpet and you like Christmas, right? Then put ’em together and either (1) give a CD to someone for Christmas or (2) add a CD to your own Christmas-gift wish list so that someone can give it you. Not just a CD of beautiful Christmas music—make it a CD that features great trumpeters playing great Christmas music!
Through the internet, I’ve conducted an informal poll, asking other trumpeters from around the world to name their favorite Christmas CDs featuring the trumpet. Here are the results (not in priority or genre order):
- Canadian Brass, “A Very Merry Christmas CD” (2010)
- Canadian Brass, “Christmas Tradition” (2007)
- Canadian Brass, “A Christmas Experiment” (2007)
- Canadian Brass, “Noel” (1994)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, “Christmas Album” (2005)
Herb Alpert's "Christmas Album" cover
- Tine Thing Helseth, “My Heart is Ever Present” (2009)
- Rick Braun, “Christmas Present” (1994)
- Chris Botti, “December” (2006)
- Doc Severinsen, “Christmas with Friends” (1991)
- Doc Severinsen, “Merry Christmas from Doc Severinsen” (2000)
- Phil Driscoll, “Heaven and Nature Swing” (2000)
- Boston Brass, “The Stan Kenton Christmas Carols” (2005)
- Wynton Marsalis, “Christmas Jazz Jam” (2009)
- Playboy’s “Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night,” featuring Arturo Sandoval (2001)
- Al Hirt, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (2000)
- Harry Connick, Jr., “When My Heart Finds Christmas,” featuring Roger Ingram (1993)
- Philadelphia Brass, “Festival of Carols in Brass” (1991)
- Philadelphia Brass, “Christmas in the Grand Tradition” (2010)
- The Airmen of Note, “Cool Yule” (2009)
- The Airmen of Note, “A Holiday Note from Home” (2005)
- Tom Kubix Big Band, “A Jazz Musicians Christmas” (2002)
- James Morrison, “Christmas” (2000)
If you have a favorite not listed here, please click on “Leave a Comment” below this post, give me the artist and title, and I’ll add it to the above list.
If you want to learn more about these favorites and even listen to excerpts from some of them, simply copy the bulleted item, paste it into a search engine box, and hit “search.” You’ll find lots of results that link you to websites featuring that item in some way.
And I wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, with God’s many blessings!
Posted in Selected Trumpet Music | Tagged: Airmen of Note, Arturo Sandoval, Boston Brass, brass, Canadian Brass, carols, CD, Chris Botti, Christmas, December, Doc Severisnen, festival, gift, Henry Connick, Herb Alpert, holiday, James Morrison, jazz, Jr., Noel, Phil Dirscoll, Philadelphia Brass, Rick Braun, Roger Ingram, Stan Kenton, Tijuana Brass, Tine Thing Helseth, Tom Kubix, trumpet, trumpeters, Wynton Marsalis, yule | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on November 27, 2010
Have you heard of the Marine Military Academy? Neither had I when I got an email from a parent in Lynnwood inquiring about private lessons for her son, a trumpeter, coming home from Texas for vacation during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. At first, I wondered, does “marine” refer to the navy, merchant marine, oceanography, biology, or what? No, none of the above—it’s the U.S. Marine Corps, of course! We arranged four one-hour lessons while he’s home in November, and I now have my 13th student.
The Marine Military Academy (MMA) is in Harlingen in south Texas, only about 11 miles from the Rio Grande River and the border with Mexico. Forty-five years ago in 1965, it was established as a private college preparatory school for boys, grades 8-12 (see www.mma-tx.org). It is the only Marine prep school in the USA, and the typical enrollment is about 350-400.
My student is 17 and a senior. As a cadet at MMA, he plays in the school band. Three bugle calls get used regularly in the daily/weekly routine of school life: “Attention,” “Adjutant’s Call,” and “Taps.” For Pass in Review, the band plays the stirring march by John Philip Sousa known as “Semper Fi”—that’s short for Semper Fidelis (Latin, meaning “Always faithful”, the motto of the Marine Corps). And they play the moving “Marine Corps Hymn” (Halls of Montezuma), too, among many other pieces of music. For next year, he’s now considering three universities in Washington, Illinois, and Texas, and the Naval Academy in Maryland.
His dream is to play trumpet in The United States Marine Band, known as “The President’s Own” (see www.marineband.usmc.mil/). God bless the Marines and all our military and all our veterans, way back to the Revolutionary War, 1776-1783.
Trumpeters in “The President’s Own” Marine Band
Freedom is not free. It’s a universal, human desire, and its costs, for every generation on this precious globe, are high. In these Thanksgiving holidays, I pray he lives his dream, God willing.
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: adjutant's call, attention, band, bugle, cadet, Christmas, Halls of Montezuma, Harlingen, Illinois, John Philip Sousa, lessons, Lynnwood, march, Marine Corps, Marine Corps Hymn, Marine Military Academy, Maryland, Mexico, military, Naval Academy, prep, preparatory school, President's Own, Revolutionary War, Rio Grande River, Semper Fidelis, Taps, Texas, Thanksgiving, trumpet, trumpeter, United States Marine Band, Washington | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on November 15, 2010
When you’re chosen to accompany the choir at a Christmas concert, you’ve gotta practice your trumpet and be ready—especially when you’re a 6th grader and the music is written in the key of A (with three sharps) and the ending note is High A above the staff! And that’s how it came to be that I now have my 12th trumpet student. Besides being in band, he’s also a member of the choir at Canyon Creek Elementary School in Bothell. The choir will perform at the 600-seat Northshore Performing Arts Center (NPAC) in Bothell and the Seattle Center on 14 and 15 December, respectively.
At age 12, he’s a talented, enthusiastic, confident, responsible boy with a warm smile and pleasant, happy attitude. His trumpet tone is strong and solid, and he has an excellent sense of rhythm. For the concerts, he simply needs more practice of the right exercises to strengthen his embouchure and extend his range further into the upper register. Since he’s a quick learner, I think he’ll do very well when he plays at the Christmas concerts next month. We have about five more weeks of lessons to prepare…and that’s just enough time to “nail it!”
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 6th grade, band, Bothell, Canyon Creek Elementary School, choir, Christmas, concert, embouchure, lessons, Northshore Performing Arts Center, rhythm, Seattle Center, soloist, tone, trumpet, upper register | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on November 14, 2010
A piano sits in the living room—Mom wants live music in the home. Her 10-year old son (in 4th grade and my 11th student) has a head start. He’s a smart, friendly kid with a bright spirit and smile. And he likes music! He’d already had some music education before I arrived on the scene, so there are some basic things I don’t have to teach him. We can focus on the trumpet itself right away. He’s taking band at Lawton Elementary School in Magnolia in Seattle, but they meet only once a week. So when we ended our first lesson together last Wednesday, he got the usual assignment: practice for 30 minutes at least four times a week (or 20 minutes, five times a week). He seems eager to play the horn. They’re going to have some lovely, lively music in their home!
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 4th grade, band, education, Lawton Elementary School, lesson, Magnolia, music, piano, Seattle, trumpet | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on September 6, 2010
Concert, 8 June 2010 - L-to-R: 2nd-year band, jazz band, & 1st-year band
Wow, here’s a totally new experience for me! I’m now an assistant to the band director at Skyview Jr. High School in Bothell. He hired me for the 2010-11 school year to teach brass instruments to beginning band students from the local elementary schools which feed into that junior high. Each week, early in the morning, elementary band students will be bussed to Skyview for band classes. I’ll conduct rehearsals and teach the brass players (trumpet and trombone).
How did this happen? It’s all the result of a chain of events after I helped one of his band members last spring. Please go to “Archives” on the left side of this blog and click on “May 2010”; then find the post, “6th Grade Student Earns Quick Promotion!”
At that time, I wasn’t seeking a teaching position with any school, but I was (and am) seeking new students for private lessons. I met the band director, attended the concert in June, spoke to both his bands about private lessons during the summer—one thing led to another, and “Voila!”—here we are. This is gonna be fun! 🙂
Posted in Skyview Junior High | Tagged: band, Bothell, brass instruments, concert, jazz, Northshore School District, private lessons, Skyview Jr. High, trombone, trumpet | 12 Comments »
Posted by glennled on September 6, 2010
My 9th trumpet student is from Magnolia and enters Ballard High School next Wednesday, the 8th. He’s never played trumpet before, but his grandparents encouraged him to take it up now, even when many of his classmates have already been playing for about four years. To catch up to their level and be admitted into the high school band, if he wants to, would be quite a challenge. He’s almost 15 years old. “Better late than never” is just part of the grandparents’ idea, and so we began in late July. They really just want him and his three younger siblings to learn to play, understand and enjoy music. On top of that, if he decides to join band someday, that’s fine. If not, fine. His little sister already plays the flute. His two brothers have taken a few beginning lessons with me, too, and it is yet to be determined whether they will continue. Perhaps their big brother’s experience will influence them. BTW, their older cousin is a Husky football player at UW. Wouldn’t it be very special if, as trumpet players, they also someday play on that field at Husky Stadium in front of 72,000 cheering fans?! But if not, that’s fine, too… 😉
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: Ballard High School, band, flute, Husky Stadium, lessons, Magnolia, music, trumpet, UW | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on June 11, 2010
At this elementary school in Bothell, there are two bands, one for beginners and the other for more advanced students. But they don’t practice at their own school–they bus to a nearby junior high school for that. And their spring concert was held this week in the gymnasium
of that junior high, where this picture was taken. One of my trumpet students, a 6th grader, is a member of the advanced band. They played “Farandole” by Georges Bizet and “William Tell Overture” by Gioachino Rossini.
It’s a strong program, and the energetic band director is anxious to build it to even higher levels. They sound good! He has good control of the bands, they are well-rehearsed, and they have fun. I was impressed with his conducting sytle. While it is expressive and animated, it is also very clean and clear. A musician would have no trouble following his lead, knowing exactly where the beat is, and playing with the intensity that he desires at any given moment.
To supplement the band performances, a jazz ensemble from the junior high played also. The band director encouraged everyone to continue to practice throughout the summer and take private lessons to improve. He stressed the benefits–better results, faster! He wants to see some of his musicians audition and be chosen for District Honor and Junior All-State bands next year. Go for it, kids!
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: 6th grader, band, band director, District Honor Band, elementary school, Junior All-State Band, junior high school, private lessons, spring concert, trumpet | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on June 9, 2010
“Oh, no!” is sometimes a student’s first reaction to hearing that a recital is coming. But that soon turns to “OK,” and afterwards, the feeling is “Ah, that wasn’t so bad” and even “Wow! that was fun. I’ll do that again.”
It certainly was fun for me and my wife. Six of my students came with their trumpets and cornets and one of her piano students came to our home last Saturday to play music. We filled the living room with chairs for grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. Four students played in the morning session, and three played in the afternoon. One trumpet student was away on an overnight school trip. Think of it: my first student began taking lessons with me just 10 months ago!
The printed program showed who played what and when. Most played two pieces, and a few played three. I accompanied the ninth grader on “Fanfare for the Common Man,” one of my favorities by Aaron Copland, first performed in 1942, during World War II.
After the program, everyone enjoyed cookies, sparkling apple cider, and conversation. My wife told them that after a few recitals, the group begins to feel like a little family.
Here’s the thing about recitals. Students should feel confident and comfortable with the music. Playing in front of people, including strangers, produces the jitters and the butterflies in one’s stomach. Good, that’s part of music education and development from students into performers. We all learn to handle these situations only by doing. It comes only through experience. But remember the good feeling that comes after a performance, even if it was not perfect? That’s one of the best lessons of the whole adventure: there is life after a recital! You live through it. It doesn’t kill you. And, in the end, it’s fun. And imagine experiencing this: people are proud of you, even if you’re not perfect, and they enjoy supporting and participating in your growth and progress. You feel good about yourself for having done it. We’re talkin’ acceptance and love. It’s all part of becoming your best.
Among the pieces played were “Lavender’s Blue,” “Mexican Hat Dance,” “Minor Rock,” “Doxy,” “Tattoo,” “Yankee Doodle,” “This Land is Your Land,” “Taps,” and “Feather Theme.”
Posted in Musical Events at Home, Recitals | Tagged: Aaron Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man, Feather Theme, lessons, Mexican Hat Dance, piano, students, Taps, Tattoo, This Land is Your Land, trumpet, Yankee Doodle | 2 Comments »
How do they do that? That’s what I always wonder when I see people riding unicycles and doing their amazing moves and tricks. And that’s what made the half-time show so thrilling at the basketball game in Seattle between the University of Washington Huskies and the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Dec. 4. [I played trumpet in the Husky Alumni Pep Band at this game.] The half-time buzzer sounded, the two teams trotted off to the locker rooms, and out onto the court rolled about 40 dazzling members of the famous Panther Pride Unicycle Team (PPUT) from North Bend, WA in the Snoqualmie Valley. The riders range from age 7 and up.
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 
